How to Use despair in a Sentence

despair

1 of 2 noun
Definition of despairnext
Synonyms for despairnext
  • The people were driven to despair by the horrors of war.
  • This latest setback has brought her to the depths of despair.
  • I was overcome by despair at being unable to find them.
  • His despair nearly drove him mad.
  • She finally gave up in despair.
  • On the occasion of Johnson's tercentenary, Martin ({it}A Life of James Boswell{/it}) searches out the psychological elements covered up by Boswell and others: the immense insecurities, bouts of deep depression, corrosive self-doubt and, in his last days, despair for his very soul.
    — Publishers Weekly, 21 July 2008
  • Huston heaves with a despair that the movies rarely show us.
    — New York Times, 8 Feb. 2022
  • Adults hit that note of despair only when the pain is too much to bear.
    — Jeneé Osterheldt, kansascity, 14 Feb. 2018
  • Of course, a bubonic plague just had to break out, and pile on the despair.
    — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 14 Feb. 2022
  • In some passages, despair just about wafts off the page.
    — Peter C. Baker, The New York Review of Books, 23 Feb. 2021
  • In the midst of despair, every good thing is all the more precious.
    — Joan Gaylord, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Jan. 2021
  • That was before the despair consumed it all, of course.
    — Luke Kerr-Dineen, For The Win, 11 Sep. 2017
  • The despair that rushed over Will quickly turned to anger.
    — Washington Post, 7 Dec. 2020
  • And a quarter of those kids on my old school bus are now gone from deaths of despair.
    — Lacy Scarmana, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2020
  • Which means that having the courage to despair means there is always hope.
    — Tina Isaac-Goizé, Vogue, 7 May 2021
  • Nothing can throw you into a pit of despair quite the same way a bad breakup can.
    — Andra Chantim, Good Housekeeping, 31 July 2019
  • On one side of that edge was beauty, and on the other side of that edge was despair.
    — Kelly Sundberg, Good Housekeeping, 1 June 2018
  • Grief can run the gamut from frequent tears to utter despair.
    — Brian Melley, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Oct. 2022
  • But along with despair, there is the drive to make a difference back home.
    — CBS News, 1 Oct. 2021
  • Many of these debtors despair of ever paying the huge sums back.
    — Victor Davis Hanson, The Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2019
  • No wonder my dreams keep me in a captive state of despair.
    — Michael Bociurkiw, CNN, 10 Mar. 2022
  • What the public saw was pink and, in many cases, despair.
    — Dewayne Bevil, orlandosentinel.com, 24 Feb. 2021
  • Is that worth putting up with a new layer of dongle despair?
    — Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge, 31 Oct. 2018
  • To do so may dredge up our own shame and guilt along with anxiety and despair.
    — Rhonda Garelick, The Cut, 11 July 2018
  • Five years is a long commitment to make in a moment of despair.
    — Anne Cohen, refinery29.com, 17 Aug. 2020
  • This is a war film dotted with heroism but dunked in despair.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 18 Apr. 2023
  • But don’t despair, there’s still a lot of help available.
    — Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2021
  • Look upon its eye and despair, for there is a new red ring of death to contend with.
    — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, 1 Nov. 2019
  • Little is said, but the weight of war and despair is palpable.
    — Keith Nelson, Men's Health, 27 July 2023
  • Lue’s players tell it, that pluck stemmed as much from him as despair.
    — New York Times, 25 June 2021
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despair

2 of 2 verb
  • Things look bad now, but don't despair.
  • Guatemalans who yearn for the rule of law are despairing.
    — The Economist, 22 June 2019
  • No one despairs over setbacks and soars with good news.
    — Chicago Tribune, chicagotribune.com, 1 June 2017
  • Many despaired, saying the change had left them depressed and adrift.
    — Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2023
  • When the air gets down near zero, parts fail and people despair.
    — Steve Hendrix, Washington Post, 4 Jan. 2018
  • If your mood is just as dark, don’t despair: The sun will soon shine.
    — Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive, 16 Oct. 2020
  • So don't despair if Champagne is hard to come by this year.
    — Jeanne O'Brien Coffey, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2021
  • As time went on, the couple despaired of events in Russia.
    — Sophia Kishkovsky, New York Times, 8 June 2018
  • Harry is drunk, despairing, lovesick and lost down blind alleys much of the time.
    — Scott Timberg, latimes.com, 10 July 2019
  • But don't despair if the weather isn't working in your favor.
    — Leigh Morgan, AL.com, 30 Jan. 2018
  • Don't despair, left-handers who have just smeared the ink across your paper yet again.
    — Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2013
  • There is no need to despair if the videoconferencing wanes.
    — Maria Shine Stewart, cleveland, 7 Sep. 2020
  • What despairs us is knowing that the slightest breeze will leave us without power.
    — Danica Coto, The Denver Post, 27 Aug. 2019
  • The Vikings and their fans should not despair, even after the misery of Monday night.
    — Bob Sansevere, Twin Cities, 23 Dec. 2019
  • If you’ve been left in a gaping void by the end of Succession, don’t despair.
    — Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 June 2023
  • But if yours leak butter or the dough becomes sticky and unworkable, do not despair.
    — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 11 Sep. 2020
  • Do not despair, though, because the palace has been in formal contact with Tanna in the past.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2021
  • Alone and unable to work, Boylan despaired and made plans for suicide.
    — David Armstrong, ProPublica, 23 Aug. 2019
  • For those with a bad case of Chionophobia — a fear of snow, do not despair, for spring is near.
    — Kevin Dayhoff, Baltimore Sun, 10 Mar. 2023
  • In other words, those still seeking a unicorn shouldn’t despair.
    — S.l. Price, SI.com, 8 Sep. 2017
  • But don’t despair and stare up into the stars feeling defeated.
    — oregonlive, 4 Dec. 2020
  • Musicians may despair and sell their services for less.
    — Ernesto Lechner, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2020
  • Don’t despair; there are, in fact, Orlando arts events on the horizon.
    — Matthew J. Palm, orlandosentinel.com, 5 Aug. 2020
  • The man who once took pride in being fit long after his college football career now despairs of getting his health back.
    — Amy Ellis Nutt, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2018
  • Still, viewers who come to Netflix for the kind of movies and shows that win awards and top critics’ best-of lists shouldn’t despair yet.
    — Time, 3 Jan. 2020
  • This is a good policy, but for those of us who already bought elaborate cards, there's no need to despair.
    — Eleanor Cummins, Popular Science, 24 Dec. 2020
  • In the downbeat, despairing worlds of both these thrillers, this upbeat, inspiring theme shines.
    — Gerald Bartell, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2019
  • Other politicians despair at the dynastic state of affairs.
    — Olivia Goldhill, Quartz, 13 July 2019
  • Harry Styles fans shouldn't despair, though, as the musician has several movie projects in the works.
    — Amy MacKelden, Harper's BAZAAR, 3 Oct. 2020
  • But don't despair yet: Plenty is being done to address this challenge.
    — Neil C. Thompson, IEEE Spectrum, 24 Sep. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'despair.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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